


Take a turn it's a night for believers, you're just a breath away

by stupidassfairy



Category: Ghost (Swedish Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:57:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11036640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidassfairy/pseuds/stupidassfairy
Summary: Takes place in the same world as "come give me love like a superstar, just give me everything i ever want and more", but a few days prior to that part of the story, with Alpha still struggling to come to terms with how he feels about Omega. He meets a sweet girl named Adrianna, though, who hits him with some good, solid advice.Alpha is a Sad Mess™, Omega is oblivious, Water falls in love with a keg of beer, Earth gets feisty with pool cues, Air is happily stoned, and Papa just cares about Alpha more than Alpha thinks.





	Take a turn it's a night for believers, you're just a breath away

**Author's Note:**

> so this idea came to me this afternoon and I wrote it all down at once so it's probably structured horribly and doesn't read well, but hey. as always, this work is pure fiction. like, this hasn't ever, and won't ever happen. this is just part of my little universe in my head. i'm still Super Sad about the fact that my fave Ghost line up is no more, so I guess this is how I cope. also, it's the middle of 2017 and I still have so many feels about Alpha and Omega, so this is me getting those angsty feels out. anyway, I hope some of you enjoy this.
> 
> **Title taken from Shadow Fury by Gunship

The music was really loud in this particular bar. Alpha couldn’t hear himself think. Not that he wanted to, mind, because his thoughts weren’t exactly pleasant at the moment. He scowled into the depths of his drink and kind of wished he could drown himself in it. Stirring the ice cubes around with his cocktail stick, Alpha chanced a glance over towards the bar and dance floor area and wished he hadn’t. 

Everybody was having so much fucking _fun_ this evening. Water had somehow managed to wrangle a keg of beer from somewhere, and was slurping messily from the tap whilst a gaggle of women surrounded him, giggling and flirting ostentatiously. Water was fucking loving it, Alpha could tell. He didn’t often get himself this much female attention, but the keg appeared to be working in his favour tonight. 

Earth was over by the Pool table, leaning back against it with his sleeves rolled up and an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.  
_Classy git_ , Alpha thought.  
Still, he looked to be having a great time; he’d appeared to have drawn the attention of a large group of lads and a couple of girls that were listening with amused faces to a story he’d been telling. 

Papa was ensconced in the corner, surrounded by a group of hopeful looking fans. A couple of girls were edging their way even closer to him, batting their eyelashes and flicking their hair. One woman even went to lay her hand on Papa’s arm. He wasn’t pushing any of them away, but his smile was careful and guarded.  
_Lucky prick_ , Alpha thought. Still, he knew these girls were wasting their time. Papa never got with groupies. Just flirted with them enough to keep them happy, and then he’d up and leave. He wasn’t one for casual hookups. Alpha admired the girls’ efforts all the same.

Air was sitting near the bar’s jukebox. He was responsible for the music that was currently thundering through the speakers. His eyes looked unfocussed, his hair was everywhere, and he was gesturing wildly as he chatted with the group of men around him. 

_Stoned, then_ , Alpha thought, laughing to himself. Nothing new there.  
He sipped some more of his cocktail and turned his gaze back over to the dance floor. He regretted that instantly. 

Omega was dancing with some dude. Some random dude that he’d met this evening and hit it off with. Alpha watched bitterly as Omega rutted against the other guy, half of his drink spilling down his leg. He didn’t seem to notice though, and he continued to grind backwards onto the other guy who was clearly loving every second of this. 

Alpha angrily stabbed the end of his cocktail stick into an ice cube, shattering it loudly. A group of girls at the adjacent table jumped at the noise, and turned to look at Alpha scornfully. 

“Sod off,” he spoke in harsh Swedish. The girls just stared at him confusedly and turned back around to continue their conversation. 

Alpha stared glumly over towards the dance floor again. Being in love with somebody that was totally fucking unaware of that fact really did suck. Alpha supposed that if he were a rational, straight forward person, he’d just tell Omega how he felt. Unfortunately there were a handful of snide voices that were currently living inside Alpha’s head, that told him that wasn’t an option.

_“No, no. You must stew on this forever and ever. Never let anyone know your true feelings, Alpha. Besides, think what this could do to the band!”_

_“Why would you think he could possibly feel the same about you, eh? You’re basically brothers. He doesn’t see you as anything more than that, and you know it.”_

_“He doesn’t care that you’re miserable, Alpha. He’d much rather spend time with people that aren’t miserable. Look at him dance over there, look how happy he is. That’s not you making him happy, is it?”_

_“Everybody else knows how you feel, Alpha. You’re not subtle. They all laugh at you. The great Fire Ghoul, now a shadow of his former self because he’s in love. How terribly sad.”_

“Just shut up, please,” Alpha murmured desperately, downing the rest of his drink and kicking his chair back. He needed to get out of here. 

 

 

For how long he walked, he didn’t know. He found himself at a 24 hour corner shop, staring morosely into the liquor cabinet. 

“Can I help you, sir?” came the thick Mancunian accent of the man behind the counter. 

Alpha jumped, swearing under his breath.  
“Uh, yeah. I’ll take your biggest bottle of Jameson, please,” he muttered, jabbing his finger in the direction of said bottle. 

The man grabbed it and scanned it, his face bored.  
“That’s £57. Cash or card?” 

Alpha winced and handed over his credit card, sighing. 

 

 

Bottle of Jameson in tow, Alpha made his way down the dark street. He didn’t know his way around Manchester at all and had no idea how far he was from the bar he’d been in with the others. He plonked himself down on the edge of some kind of memorial statue, and unscrewed the bottle of whiskey. 

“Hey! You can’t sit on there! That’s disrespectful!” came the outraged tone of a male passer by. 

Alpha didn’t even look up, just gave his middle finger to the general direction of the voice.

“Fucking prick,” the voice hissed. 

Whoever it was walked away though, so Alpha was left to enjoy his bottle of whiskey as disrespectfully as he wanted.  
He realised he probably looked like the personification of troubled right now, but he didn’t really care. Alpha swigged from the bottle miserably, wishing he could just dig into his head and pull his brain out. 

He thought back to a few weeks ago, when Omega had been curled up on his shoulder watching him play video games. Just the two of them on the small sofa on the bus, all up in each others’ space. That was the moment. That was the moment his world had flipped upside down and he’d suddenly looked down at Omega with new eyes. Eyes that saw him as more than a best friend. Eyes that saw him as more than a bandmate. Eyes that instead saw his future, because nothing else in Alpha’s life was as consistent and unwavering as Omega. He’d always been there, right from the start. Yes, Papa had been too, but not quite in the way Omega had.  
People came and went quite frequently in life. Friends that you think are going to be with you forever; girlfriends and boyfriends that you think are the one this time; family members that you didn’t think you could ever fall out with… Alpha had experienced all that shit, and Omega had experienced it right alongside Alpha, always consistent, always unwavering. 

Alpha took a deep breath, realising his eyes had become misty. He angrily scrubbed the back of his hand over them. It did no good to get upset about things like this. 

_“Aww, Fire Ghoul. Cry those silly tears, let everybody see how weak you are.”_

_“Why are you crying? He’s not crying over YOU. Give it up, mate.”_

Alpha dropped his head into his hands. He wished these voices would fuck off and leave him alone, but he wasn’t sure how to make that happen when they were a product of his own imagination. He swallowed another heavy mouthful of Jameson, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. 

“Shit, you look like how I feel. Mind if I join you?” A quiet female voice came from somewhere to Alpha’s left. 

He snapped his head up and realised there was a small red haired girl stood next to him, clutching a bottle of wine. She was smiling at him, and Alpha noticed she was wearing a Ghost t-shirt under her jacket. 

His eyes narrowed immediately with distrust and he opened his mouth to tell her to go away, before he snapped it shut and slumped back in defeat.  
“Sure, whatever, I don’t care,” he muttered, taking another swig of whiskey. 

The girl laughed, and seated herself next to him, crossing her ankles in front of her.  
“It’s nice to meet you, Alpha,” she said, watching his reaction. 

Alpha groaned.  
“Look, this ain’t what meeting me is usually like, I can tell ya that much. I’m not in a great way tonight. If you’re after a wonderful, memorable meeting with Alpha From Ghost, then tonight’s not the night, love,” he sighed, pulling his snapback lower over his eyes. 

The girl snorted.  
“Well, this isn’t what meeting me is usually like. I’m not in a great way either, so if you were after a wonderful, memorable meeting with Adrianna, Manchester’s biggest Ghost fan, then tonight’s not the night either, _love_ ,” she retorted, unscrewing her bottle of red wine and taking a big gulp. 

To his immense surprise, Alpha found himself laughing. 

“What?” Adrianna snapped, setting the wine bottle down with a clunk. 

Alpha shook his head.  
“Sorry. Just… I wasn’t expecting a comeback as good as that, to be honest. You’re fiery. I like that,” Alpha said. 

Adrianna looked at him in surprise, the corners of her mouth twitching up in a smile. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Fire Ghoul,” she replied, winking. 

Alpha grinned and necked back some more whiskey.  
“So, darlin’, what’s going on with you? Why so troubled this evening? I may be about ninety percent whiskey right now, but I can still listen…if you’d like me to,” he offered. 

Adrianna took a deep breath and an even deeper gulp of wine, and started to talk. Alpha listened as she spoke of the guy that was supposedly her boyfriend. The guy that had made her feel special in so many ways and made her believe she’d found happiness. The guy who had introduced her to his family proudly, and had taken her as a plus-one to a family wedding. The guy who had held her hand as he’d taken her on her first roller coaster. The guy who had spoken longingly of their future together, discussing their ideal home. The same guy who had then upped and left without a word, going back to his ex girlfriend instead, and leaving Adrianna without an explanation.

“I just… really thought he was the one, you know? Like, life had worked in my favour for once,” Adrianna said miserably, chugging more wine. 

“Life rarely works in your favour, honey. I’m only thirty four, and I can tell you that much. I’m sorry all of that happened to you, though. Nobody deserves that,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. 

“Thanks,” she muttered. “So… if I may be so bold, Alpha, what’s got you tied in knots this evening?” 

Alpha stared at his feet. Despite the alcohol tipping him over the edge, he was mindful that this girl was after all, a fan, and there were certain things you didn’t tell fans. Alpha considered the fact that actually, nobody really knew about his feelings for Omega, and he wasn’t altogether sure he wanted this random girl from Manchester to find out about their complex inter-band relationships.  
Nevertheless, he too took a deep breath and told her a very rough outline of his current problem. He left out names and any other details that would make it obvious, though. 

Adrianna listened, her eyes wide, and her face sympathetic.  
“So… kinda unrequited love, I guess? Although, I have to say this… Just fucking tell the man you’re in love with him, dude. You might hear everything you’ve been wanting to hear, right?” 

Alpha spluttered.  
“I - how did you know they’re a he?” he squeaked. 

Adrianna laughed.  
“I didn’t, although you’ve confirmed it now. Your use of they and them pronouns left much to the imagination, but I just had a hunch,” she said. 

Alpha scowled. Even when drunk, this girl was clearly the perceptive sort.  
“Well, I don’t think he’d tell me what I want to hear. There’s no way he feels the same… no way,” Alpha whispered. 

Adrianna got to her feet, the wine bottle nearly empty.  
“You don’t know that for sure. Do me a favour and promise me you’ll tell him soon. You can’t keep tormenting yourself like this. You need an answer. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way, at least then you can move on and give up on the idea. Just like I’ve got to try and do,” she said sadly, patting Alpha’s shoulder. 

Adrianna was totally right, and Alpha knew it. He stood up with her and opened his arms.  
“Hug?” he offered.

Adrianna leaned in to him and wrapped her free arm around his torso.  
“It was great to meet you, thanks for listening to me drone on about my pathetic life. I’ve gotta go now, my friends will wonder where the hell I am,” she said. 

Alpha nodded, releasing her.  
“Likewise, thank you. I’m sorry I probably wasn’t what you expected tonight. I hope your problem becomes easier to deal with.”

She smiled and began to descend the steps of the memorial. 

Alpha shoved his hand into his pocket and rummaged, fingers enclosing around the guitar pick he’d used that evening.  
“Wait! Look, I know it’s not much, but I figured you deserved something for listening to a drunk, depressed guitar player warble on about _his_ pathetic life.” He descended the steps, catching up with her, and pressed the pick into her hand.

Adrianna’s eyes were wide, and her face broke into a huge grin.  
“For me? Really? You have no idea how much this means to me, honestly,” she said in hushed tones, as she looked down at the pick in her palm. 

Alpha shrugged, waving a hand. 

“Before I really do have to go, just… please promise me you’ll talk to your guy. You might get everything you’ve ever been hoping for. Hopefully the next time I meet you, you can introduce me to him, and you won’t be a sad, drunken mess. Promise me you’ll make the right decision and talk to him?” Adrianna said. 

Alpha sighed.  
“I will, I promise. Definitely not tonight, and maybe not tomorrow either… but I will. I’ll tell him eventually.” He scrubbed a hand over his eyes, amazed that this tiny stranger had managed to knock some sense into his head over the course of their short time together. 

“Good boy. See you some other time, Fire Ghoul.” 

Alpha watched her walk away, zig zagging her way up the deserted street. She stopped about a couple of hundred yards away and threw her wine bottle into a recycling bin, before pulling open the door of a nearby bar and making her way inside. 

 

 

“So… where are you? On a monument?” Papa was saying, his voice cutting in and out with patchy reception. 

Alpha held the phone tightly in his hand as he made his way further down the memorial’s steps.  
“Yeah, I dunno what part of Manchester though. I walked for ages when I came out of the bar,” he hiccupped. 

“Yes,” came the clipped reply. “Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been for the last few hours?! You just fucked off and turned your phone off.” 

Papa clearly wasn’t impressed. Alpha didn’t really care, to be honest. He doubted they’d all been worried because they actually cared about him, probably only worried about having to play the Leeds show the next night without a lead guitarist. 

Papa sighed on the other end of the phone.  
“Look, we’re worried about you, Fire. Air and I are getting in a taxi right now to come and find you. The driver thinks he knows which memorial statue you’re on.”

Papa hung up the phone and Alpha groaned.  
Just what he needed. Papa and Air being all fatherly and disapproving. Then he remembered that Air was stoned out of his mind and likely hallucinating right now, anyway. 

He sank down onto the bottom step and wondered what Omega was doing. Probably still at the bar with the bloke he’d been grinding against. Probably trading phone numbers with that same guy. Probably licking salt off that guy’s arm whilst they did a row of tequila shots. Probably plucking the lime wedge out of the guy’s mouth with his own mouth.  
Life was unfair.  
Alpha wanted to grind against Omega. Alpha wanted to lick salt off Omega’s arm. Alpha wanted to pluck a lime wedge out of Omega’s mouth with his own mouth. 

_“Hey…maybe you could have that? Remember what you promised Adrianna. You will tell him how you feel, Alpha. Tell him how you feel, and you might get everything you want.”_

_Huh_ , Alpha thought. That voice was new. He hoped that voice would be around more often.  
He sat there for a further twenty minutes, thinking about Omega and how in hell he would ever bring this topic up with the man that had been his best friend for so long.

His musings were interrupted by the arrival of a black taxi cab. Papa stepped out of it, clad in sunglasses even though it was the middle of the night.  
_Pretentious moron_ , Alpha thought. 

Papa made his way over to him, and sat down next to him on the step.  
“That’s a big bottle of whiskey you have there,” he said, in way of greeting. 

Alpha nodded, pressing his head into his knees. 

“Talk to me, Alpha. You’re not yourself. I’m… well, we’re worried about you,” Papa said gently. 

Alpha sighed.  
“Not tonight, just… take me back to the bus, please. I’m so tired,” he slurred. 

Papa nodded, getting to his feet and holding out his hands. He pulled Alpha to his feet and helped him into the back of the taxi. Climbing in next to him, he kept one of Alpha’s hands in his, as he gave the driver instructions on how to get to where their bus was parked. 

“We’ve got a little drive to go, Fire, do you want to nap on my shoulder?” Papa offered. 

Alpha frowned.  
“Why’re you bein’ so nice to me? I’m a hideous wreck,” he sniffed. 

Papa tightened his hold on Alpha’s hand.  
“Well, you’re our hideous wreck, Alpha. We all care about you so much, please don’t ever forget that,” Papa said. 

Alpha grunted and lay his head on Papa’s shoulder. 

Air was sprawled out fast asleep in the front of the taxi, his head lolling against the window. Alpha could see a freshly rolled joint poking out of his trouser pocket.  
He guessed they’d all had a much more fun night than he’d had. 

As if he could read Alpha’s mind, Papa spoke.  
“So, Water’s in a bad way. We left him curled around the keg, crying, because the bar staff are trying to take it off him. Earth got into a fight over a game of Pool, and hit some guy over the head with one of the cues. Omega had to step in and break that one up. He’s been worried sick about you, Alpha. He wanted to come too, but I made him stay behind to stop the other two doing anything else silly.” 

Alpha’s breath hitched in his chest.  
“Omega was worried about me?” he choked. 

Papa hummed.  
“Of course. We all were. Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when we get to the bus,” Papa said soothingly, releasing his hold on Alpha’s hand, and wrapping his arm around his shoulders instead. 

Alpha drifted off into a patchy sleep, awakening briefly whenever the cab took a sharp turn. 

_“See? People do care about you, Alpha. Keep your promise and tell Omega how you feel. You might get everything you’ve ever wanted.”_

Alpha smiled.  
_Promise_ , he thought to himself.


End file.
